calumny

cal·umny (kal′əm nē)

noun pl. -·nies

Etymology: Fr calomnie < L calumnia, trickery, slander < IE base *kēl-, *kol-, to deceive, confuse > OE hol, slander

A false and malicious statement about someone that is intended to injure his or her reputation. See also obloquy, defamation, and slander.

Converse of object

refute: Nor is its purpose simply or solely to refute calumny.
escape: Be thou as chaste as ice, as pure as snow, thou shalt not escape calumny.
speak: Why did you speak calumny of me to Dr. Grantly behind my back?

Adjective modifier

such: Such calumnies are easy to utter but hard to refute in a foreign country.
gross: Vetch, min. of Dumfries, answering some gross calumnies in his pamphlet entitled " A short History of Rome's Designs, &c.
foul: It is a foul calumny that we do today.
Christian: The Church calling him Gnostic is simply a Christian calumny because the clergy disagreed with him.
pure: It is pure calumny to say that the Pagans worship their idols in a way any different from this.

Noun used with modifier

base: This was resented as a base calumny by Mu'awiya.

Browse dictionary entries near calumny